CapitaLand is supporting Temasek Foundation’s Stay Prepared initiative amid the COVID-19 situation by rallying staff volunteers to distribute alcohol-free hand sanitiser to the Singapore community at 16 participating CapitaLand malls. CapitaLand staff volunteers are expected to put in about 6,000 hours towards the initiative.
The free hand sanitiser supplied by Temasek Foundation will be available for collection by every household in Singapore at the participating CapitaLand malls from 23 March to 5 April 2020 between 3pm and 9pm on weekdays and from 10am to 9pm on weekends.
Each household can collect up to 500ml of hand sanitiser when they bring their clean and dry reusable bottle(s) and the #BYOBclean collection pamphlets to the malls. They can also do so at their neighbourhood Community Centres/Clubs during the first week of 23 to 29 March 2020, at the same operating hours. Singapore Post has volunteered to send the #BYOBclean collection pamphlets to the mailboxes of all households.
The 16 participating CapitaLand malls are Bedok Mall, Bugis Junction, Bugis+, Bukit Panjang Plaza, Clarke Quay, Funan, IMM, JCube, Junction 8, Lot One Shoppers’ Mall, Plaza Singapura, Raffles City Singapore, SingPost Centre1, Tampines Mall, The Star Vista, and Westgate. The registration booths as well as the bottle labelling and sanitiser dispensing stations to be set up at the participating malls will be manned by CapitaLand staff volunteers from 23 to 27 March 2020. A trial was conducted with CapitaLand staff at its offices in Capital Tower and Galaxis on 6 March 2020 to help refine the process for dispensing and collection of the hand sanitiser. Another trial at Bedok Mall tested the idea of physical distancing for queues.
Mr Tan Seng Chai, Chief Corporate & People Officer for CapitaLand Group and Executive Director of CapitaLand Hope Foundation, said: “It has been all hands on deck for us at CapitaLand since the Ministry of Health raised Singapore’s DORSCON level to Orange in early February. The health and well-being of our customers, staff and the community remain our topmost concern as we put in place all the necessary precautionary measures at our properties. Temasek Foundation’s Stay Prepared initiative is another opportunity for CapitaLand to play our part meaningfully. The enthusiastic response from our staff volunteers strongly demonstrates that we are all in this together with the community. As a show of solidarity and support, CapitaLand was also the first corporate donor to contribute to Community Chest’s The Courage Fund, to support vulnerable groups in Singapore affected by COVID-19.”
Mr Chris Chong, Managing Director, Retail, CapitaLand Singapore, said: “As the operator of Singapore’s largest shopping mall network with malls conveniently located islandwide, CapitaLand malls are well suited as collection points for the community to receive the free hand sanitiser provided by Temasek Foundation. Since last month, we have been enhancing our defences against COVID-19 and many of the precautionary measures are already in place to boost public confidence and encourage shoppers to visit the malls. These include increasing the frequency of cleaning and disinfecting as well as store-level temperature screening, where relevant. We are looking forward to welcoming the community to our malls2 when they come to collect the hand sanitiser.”
The water-based alcohol-free hand sanitiser by Temasek Foundation contains 0.054% benzalkonium chloride which is one of the non-alcohol disinfectants that can be used against coronaviruses listed in the National Environment Agency’s interim list of active ingredients for disinfection against coronavirus3, and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control 4, along with alcohol-based alternatives. The hand sanitiser is not flammable, toxic or corrosive, and does not stain clothing, or irritate the skin.
Mr Richard Magnus, Chairman, Temasek Foundation Cares, said, “We would like to thank CapitaLand and its volunteers who have generously lent their support to this logistical undertaking. This is part of a radical and comprehensive battle plan to enable our community to overcome COVID-19. Temasek Foundation and the stakeholders of this initiative stand in solidarity with the government’s plans and actions. We are leaving no stone unturned and will continue to help build social resilience and instill public confidence during this uncertain period.”
For more information about Temasek Foundation’s #BYOBclean initiative, members of the public may visit stayprepared.sg/BYOBclean, or call the hotline at 1800-738-2000, from 9am to 9pm daily between 16 March and 5 April 2020. Singapore Power has volunteered to provide call centre services in case of queries on the free hand sanitiser initiative.
For more information on #BYOBclean hand sanitiser: https://stayprepared.sg/byobclean/alcohol-or-not/
